Lyraeni Sorrowsong
Appearance Physical Lyraeni Sorrowsong's skin is nearly snow-like in its complexion, the deathly peaceful and eternally youthful face only disrupted by a light-given scar that carves over her right eye. Her eyes a ghostly blue, lighter than even most High Elves. Her hair, since her first death, has lightened from a golden blonde to a platinum blonde. Her elven ears rise high through the silvery hair, signifying her elven heritage. She often wears a myriad of different armour sets, the precise armour she wears depending on her combat style at the time. Arms and Armour Her arms and armour are rather flexible - although she has her favourites. Most often she is found in a set of black leather ranger armour, reinforced with arcanite. This armour is flexible, lightweight, and durable - perfect for most situations she finds herself in. Instead of a helm or circlet, Lyra dons a thick black leather hood. Useful for both stealth, intimidation, and protection from ranged attacks. However, if the situation is dire or brute strength is required, Lyraeni may don her Death Knight armour. A full plate armour comprised of ghost-iron and cobalt plating, this armour is ideal for front-lines combat and brawls. For offense, Lyraeni has several instruments she can draw upon. For up-close combat, she will call upon one of her several runeblades. Although she favours using a single blade, she is capable of wielding two nearly as well. For ranged combat she employs a mix of martial weapons and magic. From her hand-held foldable crossbow, to her necromantic bone-bow, Lyra's projectile arsenal have proven time and time again to be quite useful. On top of that, Lyra commands rune magic - giving her access to a variety of deadly magic. From summoning dark Necromantic magic from the shadowlands, to channeling the icy powers of Icecrown itself, to even the perverse control of life energy through blood, Lyra is never without options in a fight. History Early Life Lyraeni's early life was similar to many High Elves of her time. Born into an era of peace, she was told tales of the fierce and agile Farstriders, fantasizing about eventually becoming one herself. She would often stray into the forests, hoping to catch a glimpse of one of her fabled heroes. To her disappointment, she rarely even found evidence of them - and was swiftly found by her parents. Farstrider Academy Years later, when she came of age, Lyraeni would enlist into the Farstriders. Displaying a good amount of natural talent and prowess with the bow and sword, Lyra quickly entrenched herself into the ranks of the Rangers. It was here that Lyra first met, or heard of, several elves that would become life-long allies and friends. However, one Ranger-Captain in particular by the name of Aeriyth Dawnsorrow would prove to be an inspiration to the young ranger. Seeing the young noble's ferocity and prowess in combat against the renegade Amani trolls, Lyra was inspired to train even harder to try and match her. Military Service Her training paying off, Lyra was placed under the command of Ranger-Captain Aeriyth Dawntreader in several battles across Lordaeron against the savage horde. Her experience fighting the similarly savage trolls proved invaluable in the forests of Lordaeron. Within the 812th Division of the Quel'thalas Rangers, Lyra fought many battles against trolls and orcs alike and assisted in the defense of Quel'thalas from any and all threats. However, despite the combined efforts of the elves, nothing could stop Arthas' rampage across their lands. While many, many of her brethren fell to Arthas, she had miraculously survived his campaign through their ancient land. Following the fall of Quel'thalas and the destruction of the Sunwell, the High Elves faced one of the darkest periods in their history. With the loss of their Sunwell, Lyra and the other High Elves began to suffer the effects of magical withdrawal. While many of the newly dubbed Sin'dorei chose to go down the path of the Fel, Lyra and the rest of the Quel'dorei staunchly refused. And shortly thereafter, the remaining Quel'dorei were exiled from Quel'thalas, becoming exiles that spread across the world. It was near this point, where Lyra lost contact with Aeriyth Dawnsorrow. The Argent Dawn Lyra's heart held anger and need for revenge against the Scourge - for all they took from her. She wished for it to never happen to another - if she could help it. And so, Lyra traveled south to the Plaguelands, and joined with the humans assisting in routing the scourge from the land - the Scarlet Crusade. However, as their radical nature began to show, Lyra and many others left to form a new group, the Argent Dawn. Holding closer to the original ideals and purpose of the Crusade, the Argent Dawn worked in routing evil from the world for many years. As part of the Argent Dawn, Lyra worked against the scourge in the plaguelands - and rallied to attempt and stop the tide of demons pouring forth from the Dark Portal. However, she did not delve through the Dark Portal - and instead remained on Azeroth, to continue her crusade against the Scourge. It was in this Crusade where Lyra managed to rescue a little girl from a horde of ghouls that had ransacked and slain the rest of her village. Miraculously she survived - while the Argent Dawn nursed her back to health, Lyra formed a close friendship with the young girl. As she recovered, Lyra and the girl would often play - to keep the young human's spirits up. However, the true nature of her survival was made soon made clear, when she collapsed one day while playing with Lyra. Over the next several days, the priests determined the cause - the plague of undeath. They attempted to cure it, to heal the girl, but they could only ease her pain. And so, Lyra took fate into her own hands - emerging into the little girl's room in the dark of night. With soothing words and comforting hugs, and a gleaming dagger, Lyra ended the young girl's suffering. Lyra would keep that dagger on her forever - to remind herself the price that must be paid, to stop the scourge. Acherus Following the death of the human girl, Lyra had seemingly died, but kept on walking. Devoid of much emotion, the kill had sapped her of nearly all life. She hardly ate, hardly slept - preferring to spend her time slashing and shooting the undead of Lordaeron. It was this single-minded pursuit of revenge against the scourge that led to her death - the experienced ranger weary from lack of sleep, Lyra was overwhelmed by the Scourge forces, and was slain. However, her fighting had impressed the scourge commanders on the field that day, and her body was transported to the new Necropolis: Acherus the Ebon Hold. There, Lyra would be transformed into an instrument of the Lich King's will - an abomination against life. A Death Knight. With her old High Elven blade twisted and corrupted into a Scourge Runeblade in hand, Lyra campaigned against the living of the last un-tainted shore of Lordaeron. Lyra and her brothers and sisters of Acherus slaughtered thousands, painting the crusaders there truly scarlet. Within the Scourge, and for some time after, Lyraeni rode amongst the Dark Riders of Acherus. Within she learned exceptional equestrianism, aided with a prenatural connection to her Deathcharger Misery, and an enhanced ability to manipulate the veil between the Shadowlands and Reality; Including but not limited to: The ability to shift between realms seemingly at will, pull others into and out of the realm of death, and channel the power of its various planes and damned souls. Atop Misery, Lyraeni was a force to be reckoned with among the battlefield - both within and without the Realm of Death. Finally, the time had come to remove their last remaining obstacle in the plaguelands - the Argent Dawn within Light's Hope Cathedral. Lyra, along with a large portion of the Death Knights of Acherus, backed by hundreds if not thousands of scourge minions, swarmed Lights Hope. A long battle, with great death tolls on either side - eventually, the holy ground of Lights Hope won out, and Lyra along with the other Death Knights were defeated. On the holy ground, the Lich King's will was weakened. As Lyra fought against the Argents, and knelt there, defeated by her former comrades - she felt something she had not felt in months. Freedom. The Light of Dawn had freed them - all of them - from the Lich King's grasp. Knight of the Ebon Blade Now under the name "Knights of the Ebon Blade", Lyra continued her life's mission before she had been raised. Eradicate the scourge, and chase after the Lich King. Now a living weapon, Lyra was more effective than ever - no longer did she have to worry about breathing too much while holding her body, for she did not breath. She did not have to worry about lack of sleep, for she did not sleep. She could pursue her purpose in life with utter and complete efficiency. And so she did. She chased the scourge, along with the other Death Knights, to Icecrown. She fought the scourge at every corner of the continent, completely focused on her goal of eradicating them. The Scourge had made her a killing machine - only now, Lyra had the reigns. However, soon the Lich King would be toppled. The scourge defeated. While Lyra would not learn the true fate of the Lich King for some time, Arthas was dead. Her people avenged, her greatest enemy killed, the scourge dismantled. Lyra fully intended to throw herself off Acherus, to end her unnatural life. After months of contemplating, of arguing with herself, she was ready to leap to her end. However, as she neared the edge, the entire world shook. The earth itself tore asunder, and flame covered the sky - Deathwing, had arrived. The Cataclysm And with the Aspect of Death, came Lyra's new purpose. While the scourge was gone - the evils of the world were not. With her life and her newfound prowess at killing, Lyra sought to end all threats to life upon Azeroth. Be it undead, dragons, or otherwise. She fully employed the tools the scourge had damned her with to do this - raising the dead, spreading magical plagues to her enemies, and stealing the souls of the Twilight cultists. She continued to fight endlessly against any threat that came her way - pointed at the enemy of all life, Lyra did not stop until Deathwing fell to Thrall and the Aspects. Return to 'life' Lyra was a one-track minded killing machine even after her freedom from the scourge - focusing purely on defeating the enemies of the alliance and of life. However, peace came eventually. A peace that felt foreign to her after so many years of conflict, but it gave her time to think. And with this, came time to reflect on her past life. Her loves, her losses, her friends, her enemies. She found herself wandering the streets of Dalaran at night - simply thinking. It was on one of these self-reflective wanders that she found a familiar face - Aeriyth Dawnsorrow. Now a Ranger-Lady of her own branch of the Silver Covenant, The Highguard. Her old instincts kicking in, she immediately snapped into a salute of her old commander. She responded in kind. Soon after, she was welcome back into the 812th, her old rank of Ranger-Captain being re-instated upon her return. She had found something outside of the killing, outside of the death - she had found the only family she had left. The Highguard Now reunited with her family, Lyra had a spark within her fostered. Her embers of humanity - the things the scourge tried to tear away from her, began to once again grow. She even found her old love - the priestess Lioriae Lae'shalar. Biology As is the case with nearly every undead, Lyraeni's biology is unique to the living members of her race. While she maintains the tell-tale signs of undeath, pale skin, white hair, no pulse, and no requirement to breath, several of her more esoteric biology has been changed and enhanced as well. Strength Lyraeni's muscles, unburdened by the restraint of an over-cautious living body, are capable of working at their full capacity at will. Using this, Lyraeni is able to match the brute strength of creatures a good deal larger than her. Her strength is comparable to that of an orc warrior, for example. Through careful application of Necromancy, this can be enhanced. Speed Much like her strength, her muscles removed inhibitions have increased her speed, allowing her to easily match or even exceed the agility of her living counterparts. Making use of her death magic to shift within the Veil between the Shadowlands, or fading into it entirely, can enhance her speed and striking potential to fantastical heights - but at the cost of not being able to interact with the world while at these increased speeds. Sleep During her time in the Scourge, sleep was highly discouraged, their undeath making it no longer required. However, Lyraeni later found it does give some benefit. But it comes at the cost of no longer being aware. Thus, Lyraeni has taken to brief bouts of meditation at night - to rest her body, attune her magic, and prepare. She has been known to sleep, although when she does it is hard to wake her, and she has described her 'dreams' as tormenting and horrid. Thusly, meditation is prefered. Digestion Undeath has robbed Lyraeni of much of her taste, and suspended her need and desire to digest the same food as the living. However, being as well preserved and intact through both the superior necromancy of a Death Knight and regular upkeep, some concotions and substances still have effect. Drinking potions, and strong enough alchohol, still has an effect on the woman. Drinking blood can also be effective, and can aid in healing, but she does not crave it. Eating the flesh of the living or recently fallen, especially of life-alligned creatures such as red or green dragons, does bestow an empowered state - where her undead flesh strengthens and can even regenerate given it is not disturbed while the consumption takes place. Ordinary flesh merely aids in the regeneration of her own flesh, by harvesting the life energy contained. Touch Originally, Lyraeni's nerve endings were dulled, cold and only allowing the barest of sensations to register pressure. More recently however, after undergoing a ritual by an allied Necromancer, Lyraeni's sense of touch has risen to just below that of a living elf. Smell Lyraeni's sense of smell, remarkable, remains intact - although she finds little joy in pleasant smells any more, and the smell of the Living, both beast and humanoid, sticks out strongest of all. Hearing Being an elf, even death has done little to dull her finely tuned sense of hearing. Her life as a farstrider has trained this sense well - and it did not take her long to adapt to her cursed life in much the same way. Emotions Lyraeni feels emotion, although she is far more inclined to experience dark and dreary emotions, and the happiness she can feel is fleeting, and almost exclusively comes from things that relate to her life. Such as lost loves, family, friends, or familiar scenarios. Blood Lyraeni's pulse is still - her heart only coursing with the dark magic of Necromancy. But the blood within her veins has long since transmuted, altered by the powerful necromancy that created her, into Ichor of Undeath. This Ichor is a potent alchemical ingredient, carrying with it the essence of undeath. While she does not require it to function, it is plausible it contributes to her well-being in some way. Sight Lyraeni, as a thalassian elf, has enhanced eyesight. It is unknown whether her ability to see in the dark comes from her elven heritage, or her undead curse, but the end result is the same: a nearly unburdened sight in even the darkest of tombs, requiring only a few moments of concentration to adapt. As a magical creature, Lyraeni can often detect the presence of magic - especially dark magic, and in particularly strong cases this can result in her Seeing some indication of that magic.Category:Characters Category:High Elf Category:Undead Category:Rangers Category:Death Knights Category:Soldiers Category:Silver Covenant Category:Duskfall Collective Category:The Highguard Category:Farstriders Category:Order of the Ebon Blade Category:Army Officers Category:The Silverguard